IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0010587.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sex Differences in Obesity Associated with Total Fertility Rate

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Brooks
  • Alexei Maklakov

Abstract

The identification of biological and ecological factors that contribute to obesity may help in combating the spreading obesity crisis. Sex differences in obesity rates are particularly poorly understood. Here we show that the strong female bias in obesity in many countries is associated with high total fertility rate, which is well known to be correlated with factors such as low average income, infant mortality and female education. We also document effects of reduced access to contraception and increased inequality of income among households on obesity rates. These results are consistent with studies that implicate reproduction as a risk factor for obesity in women and that suggest the effects of reproduction interact with socioeconomic and educational factors. We discuss our results in the light of recent research in dietary ecology and the suggestion that insulin resistance during pregnancy is due to historic adaptation to protect the developing foetus during famine. Increased access to contraception and education in countries with high total fertility rate might have the additional benefit of reducing the rates of obesity in women.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Brooks & Alexei Maklakov, 2010. "Sex Differences in Obesity Associated with Total Fertility Rate," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(5), pages 1-4, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0010587
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010587
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010587
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010587&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0010587?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Case, Anne & Menendez, Alicia, 2009. "Sex differences in obesity rates in poor countries: Evidence from South Africa," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 271-282, December.
    2. repec:pri:cheawb:case_and_menendez_ehb_dec_2009 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:pri:cheawb:case_and_menendez_ehb_dec_2009.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Matheson, Flora I. & Moineddin, Rahim & Glazier, Richard H., 2008. "The weight of place: A multilevel analysis of gender, neighborhood material deprivation, and body mass index among Canadian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 675-690, February.
    5. Baum II, Charles L. & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2009. "Age, socioeconomic status and obesity growth," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 635-648, May.
    6. Patrick Bateson & David Barker & Timothy Clutton-Brock & Debal Deb & Bruno D'Udine & Robert A. Foley & Peter Gluckman & Keith Godfrey & Tom Kirkwood & Marta Mirazón Lahr & John McNamara & Neil B. Metc, 2004. "Developmental plasticity and human health," Nature, Nature, vol. 430(6998), pages 419-421, July.
    7. Wardle, J. & Waller, J. & Jarvis, M.J., 2002. "Sex differences in the association of socioeconomic status with obesity," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(8), pages 1299-1304.
    8. Davis, E.M. & Zyzanski, S.J. & Olson, C.M. & Stange, K.C. & Horwitz, R.I., 2009. "Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic differences in the incidence of obesity related to childbirth," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(2), pages 294-299.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yea-Li-A Song & Jae-Hyun Park, 2022. "Differences in Body Mass Index Trajectories and Their Classification, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Health Behaviors between People with and without Disabilities Using Korea Health Panel Surve," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Sally Sonia Simmons & John Elvis Hagan & Thomas Schack, 2022. "Then and Now: Investigating Anthropometrics and Child Mortality among Females in Malawi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Robinovich, Jossiana & Bosma, Hans & Borne, Bart van der & Ossa, Ximena & Muñoz, Sergio & Krumeich, Anja, 2021. "Is a ‘culture of plus-size women’ the independent effect of neighborhood disadvantage on female BMI? A cross-sectional study in two Chilean Municipalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    4. Amina Aitsi-Selmi & Ruth Bell & Martin J Shipley & Michael G Marmot, 2014. "Education Modifies the Association of Wealth with Obesity in Women in Middle-Income but Not Low-Income Countries: An Interaction Study Using Seven National Datasets, 2005-2010," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-10, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maruyama, Shiko & Nakamura, Sayaka, 2018. "Why are women slimmer than men in developed countries?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Temesgen Kifle & Isaac Desta, 2012. "The relationship between body mass index and socioeconomic and demographic indicators: evidence from Australia," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(1), pages 135-142, February.
    3. Classen, Timothy J., 2010. "Measures of the intergenerational transmission of body mass index between mothers and their children in the United States, 1981-2004," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 30-43, March.
    4. Aránzazu Hernández-Yumar & Maria Wemrell & Ignacio Abásolo Alessón & Beatriz González López-Valcárcel & George Leckie & Juan Merlo, 2018. "Socioeconomic differences in body mass index in Spain: An intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Fabrizio Sergio & Giacomo Tavecchia & Julio Blas & Alessandro Tanferna & Fernando Hiraldo & Erkki Korpimaki & Steven R. Beissinger, 2022. "Hardship at birth alters the impact of climate change on a long-lived predator," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Pierre Dubois & Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell, 2020. "How Well Targeted Are Soda Taxes?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(11), pages 3661-3704, November.
    7. Shen, Ke & Zeng, Yi, 2014. "Direct and indirect effects of childhood conditions on survival and health among male and female elderly in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 207-214.
    8. Valentina Alvarez-Saavedra & Pierre Levasseur & Suneha Seetahul, 2023. "The Role of Gender Inequality in the Obesity Epidemic: A Case Study from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 980-996, July.
    9. Kröger, Hannes & Leopold, Liliya, 2020. "Education Differences in Women’s Body Weight Trajectories: The Role of Motherhood," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 15(9).
    10. Chen, Duan-Rung & Wen, Tzai-Hung, 2010. "Socio-spatial patterns of neighborhood effects on adult obesity in Taiwan: A multi-level model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 823-833, March.
    11. Scott Carson, 2015. "A Weighty Issue: Diminished Net Nutrition Among the U.S. Working Class in the Nineteenth Century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 945-966, June.
    12. Cavaliere, Alessia & De Marchi, Elisa & Banterle, Alessandro, 2013. "Time Preference and Health: The Problem of Obesity," 2013 International European Forum, February 18-22, 2013, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 164754, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    13. Caliendo, Marco & Gehrsitz, Markus, 2016. "Obesity and the labor market: A fresh look at the weight penalty," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 209-225.
    14. Molly A. Martin & Margaret Gough Courtney & Adam M. Lippert, 2022. "The Risks and Consequences of Skipping Meals for Low-Income Mothers," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2613-2644, December.
    15. Shige Song, 2013. "Prenatal malnutrition and subsequent foetal loss risk: Evidence from the 1959-1961 Chinese famine," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(26), pages 707-728.
    16. Ovrum, Arnstein & Gustavsen, Geir Waehler & Rickertsen, Kyrre, 2012. "Health inequalities over the adult life course: the role of lifestyle choices," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 125862, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Laurens Cherchye & Bram De Rock & Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith & Frederic Vermeulen, 2017. "A New Year, a New You ?Heterogeneity and Self-control in Food Purchases," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2017-46, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    18. Viego, Valentina N. & Temporelli , Karina L., 2011. "Sobrepeso y obesidad en Argentina. Un análisis basado en técnicas de econometría espacial/Overweigh and Obesity in Argentina. A Spatial Approach," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 29, pages 915(26á)-91, Diciembre.
    19. Costa-Font, Joan & Fabbri, Daniele & Gil, Joan, 2009. "Decomposing body mass index gaps between Mediterranean countries: A counterfactual quantile regression analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 351-365, December.
    20. Werner Maier & Christa Scheidt-Nave & Rolf Holle & Lars E Kroll & Thomas Lampert & Yong Du & Christin Heidemann & Andreas Mielck, 2014. "Area Level Deprivation Is an Independent Determinant of Prevalent Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity at the National Level in Germany. Results from the National Telephone Health Interview Surveys ‘German Hea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-11, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0010587. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.